What will the Economic
Expressway look like?
Raised highways, dedicated
truck lanes and solar-powered that melt ice and snow
are just a few ways that our
country's infrastructure
can improve. Check out the
Partnership for America's
Economic Expressway's Top 10 list
of defining features of tomorrow's
infrastructure.
https://economicexpressway.org
about the reporter, ask what their story
is about, ask who else they have talked
to and invite them to an interview at a
location you choose," he said. "Being
prepared includes knowing your talking
points inside and out, so that you can
bridge back to them no matter what
question a reporter throws at you."
Reporters in radio, print and television outlets are busy people, and
aggregates operations can use this to
their advantage. Companies have a
better chance of controlling the tone
and message of a news story by preparing things for reporters ahead of
any interviews. Sharing general video
of quarry operations or pre-recording
sound bites from company representatives can help journalists produce their
stories more quickly. Pre-recorded content also works for social media, so companies can pre-emptively share positive
news about their staff and operations
- including charitable donations and
community events. Plus, being helpful
to reporters builds a relationship with
a writer, station or newspaper.
Supporting an
Economic Expressway
The Government and Regulatory
Affairs Committee initiated support
for the Partnership for America's
Economic Expressway, followed by full
industry backing.
"Our major highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated,
overused, underfunded," the group
says on it's website. "We are once again
called not simply to rebuild what once
was, but to envision and create the
highway network of tomorrow."
Michael W. Johnson, NSSGA president
and CEO, said that aggregates operations are glad to support an advocacy
initiative that is focused on improving
America's infrastructure. Studies show
that every dollar invested in infrastructure yields $6 of economic activity.
"Investing in our roads, highways,
bridges as well as ports and airports
creates jobs and gives American companies efficient means to do business," Johnson said. "We say that
when the aggregates industry is doing
well, America is doing well. That's
because the materials produced from
our quarries build and improve on
our infrastructure."
Safety and Health
Subcommittee Develops
MSHA Reform Suggestions
There are several ways that MSHA
can return to being an effective
implementer of the 1979 Mine Act,
and focus less on creating - and then
be responsible for enforcing - burdensome and excessive regulations.
Members of the Safety and Health
Subcommittee, part of the association's Government and Regulatory
Affairs Committee, came up with
a list of steps that the agency can
take to more effectively execute its
mission of regulating and enforcing
with a genuine eye on safety. NSSGA
anticipates working with the as-yetunnamed MSHA administrator to urge
foundational administrative changes.
Change culture of the agency,
whose success has traditionally been
measured in backward-looking metrics like citations issued.
Dramatically improve the management of inspectors so that they
can focus on safety and health, versus
"gotcha-type" enforcement.
Explore ways to modernize training of operators and inspectors
to deliver more value and consider
de-emphasizing the bloated MSHA
Mine Academy.
Revise procedures involving
pre-penalty conferencing so that
operators can obtain a genuinely fair
hearing of concerns before any legal
contest might be needed.
Develop incentives for operators
to continue to improve on their safety
performance. One example would be
a Pattern of Compliance program
that could grant enforcement credit
to excellent operators.
Re-establish the MSHA Small
Mines Office that did so much to
STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, www.nssga.org 25

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